Ham boiler washing machine



Aug. 21, 1934 H A DE L M ANN I 1,971,206

HAM BOILER WASHING MACHINE Filed May 5. 1931 2 Sheets Sheet l Aug. 21,1934. H. ADELMANN HAM BOILER WASHING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwmto o #4; 6 242 wav /y,

Patented Aug. 21, 1934 UNITED STATES r TEN rrice HAM BOILER WASHINGMACHINE Application May 5, 1931, Serial No. 535,110

7 Claims.

and from another aspect relates to the employment of a brush soconstructed and contoured as to enable the scrubbing action toeffectively be applied to the corners of the containers.

The brush structure shown in Figures 5 and 6 and described herein isdisclosed and claimed in my co-pending divisional application SerialNumber 619,846, filed June 29, 1932.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an arrangementwhereby ham boilers generally, and nonrectangularly shaped contoured hamboilers in particular, can be more effectively, and more quicklyscrubbed and cleansed than has hitherto been possible.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an arrangementwhereby narrowed areas, and particularly corners, can be more readilyreached without requiring any unusual effort by the operator.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an apparatus,particularly adapted for the scrubbing and cleansing of open ham boilersof varied contours and shapes without requiring any adjustment of theparts.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an arrangement of aplurality of brushes so as to permit of the cleansing of the opposedWalls of a ham boiler without calling for brushes of increased size oran undue shifting of the container.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an arrangement ofbrushes whereby ham boilers of varied sizes and varied contours can haveeither opposed inner walls or corresponding adjacent inner and outerWalls simultaneously scrubbed.

In the embodiment herein disclosed, the brushes are shown as arranged intriangular formation with each brush at an apex of said triangle. As aresult of this arrangement when any single brush is employed topenetrate a narrowed portion, the brush system will diverge outwardlytherefrom. This arrangement, not only.

permits of ready access to corners and narrow areas, but also has theadvantage of permitting the scrubbing of all the interior surfaces ofthe ham boiler by an angular jiggling or vibrating of the boiler andpossesses the further advantage of permitting two of the brushes tocontact with, for example, an inner surface of the ham boiler and athird brush with the outer surface of the ham boiler.

Where I employ a plurality of brushes, positioned as set forth, I havefound that simultaneous rotation of the brush each about its own 5 axis,produces a sudden swirling movement of the water therebetween. Thistends to shoot the water upwardly between the brushes so that it willforcibly strike the bottom of the container being washed.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an arrangementwherebyin an arrangement of brushes as above set forth the objectionableresults of the tendency of the water to be forced upwardly against theham boiler bottom will be minimized and possibly wholly eliminated.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a brush head of acharacter in which the tendency of the bristles to spiral or compact isre- 7 sisted and more particular an arrangement whereby any pressurebrought against the head of the brush will tend to spread the bristlesso as to force them into corners instead of compacting them.

For the attainment of these objects, and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one embodimentof my invention in the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 shows my washingapparatus in vertical section;

Figure 2 is a top plane view looking down on Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views of my apparatus used with othertypes of containers; 0

Figure 5 is a vertical cross section through my improved brush head; and

Figure 6 is a top elevational view thereof.

Before proceeding to describe my invention, I will premise that thewashing basin 10 is mount- 5 ed upon the stand (not shown) and withinwhich the driving motor is contained, and 11 is a driving shaftextending upwardly from this stand, and driven by the motor and havingits upper bearing in the bottom of the basin as shown at 1 I 12. Fixedto the driving shaft 11 is a gear 13 concentric of, and inmesh with thegears 14. As more clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, these gears14, which will hereinafter be referred to as the brush gears, are inexternal relation to 195 the master gear 13, and are shown as arrangedequidistantly so that the axes thereof form the apices of an isoscelestriangle.

I have found that there are some advantages in employing a motor drivenat 1800 R. P. M. and 110 that the brushes to be hereinafter referred to,are preferably driven at approximately 800 R. P. M. so that the gearratio is of that reduction character.

The gears 14 are carried by the brush shafts 15 having their bearings inthe stuffing boxes 16, aflixed to the lower surface of the basin 10, andwhich then pass through the washers 1'7 to provide the spindles 15 withthe portions 18 projecting upwardly into the basin 10 to receive thebrushes 22, 23 and 24. The spindle shafts 15 are provided with theenlargements received between the bottom of the basin 10 and the washers1'7 and the washers are secured as by the bolts 21. In this manner, thespindles 15 are held against vertical movement. This arrangementpositions the spindle extensions 18 within the basin 10, and also in atriangular formation, the spindle extension forming the apices of atriangle which in the illustrated embodiment is isosceles.

In Figure 5 of the drawings, I show the detailed structure of a brushhead. Each brush head comprises a central core 25 made hollow at itslower end as shown at 26 and provided with a plurality of annularundercut grooves 26 generally horizontal and provided adjacent its head27 with a plurality of grooves 28 defined by the inclined sides 29 andthe substantially horizontal bottom 30.

I have found that for my apparatus, it is advisable to employ a bristlehead which is made up partly of stainless steel and partly of a woodysubstance such as bassine, because in the first place, the stainlesssteel will have an abrading action and a woody fiber a species ofsweeping action and, secondary, I have found that the resiliency of thebassine component will tend to keep the steel bristles from compactingor spiraling,

and will tend to return them to their normal position.

In the illustrated embodiment, I have shown my brush head as made up ofapproximately three quarters stainless steel, and one quarter ofbassine.

In the manufacture of the brush head of Fig- 3 ure 5, groups of bristlesare doubled over and received at their bend in the grooves 26 as shownin this figure of the drawings. A steel wire 32 caught in the lower endof the core, is spiralled upwardly threabout to cause the groups of thebristles to be held where they are bent and to have these bends forcedinto the grooves 26 and retained therein. The lower groups of bristles36 which are received in the generally horizontal grooves will bedirected generally in a horizontal plane with a slight upward incline asshown in the drawings. The groups of bristles, however, which arereceived in the grooves 28 are directed generally upwardly at a muchgreater incline than those of the groups therebelow, and aredirnensioned so as to complete a contour which is more or less generallycylindrical and slightly in the form of a truncated cone.

In the top-most annular groove 29, is received the group of bristles towhich the reference character 38 has been applied. These bristles aremuch shorter than those immediately therebelow. In fact, the bristlelength which extends beyond the head 27 is not much greater than thatwhich contacts with the wall 29, and these bristles therefor arerelatively more rigid. This construction and arrangement of the bristlesand particularly of the bristle group 38 tends to cause the top group ofbristles adjacent thereto to spread outwardly in the event that anypressure is applied thereto.

The brushes of Figure 5 are each secured in' position by passing thehollow heads 26 thereof over the upwardly extending portions 18 of thebrush shafts, and threading a bolt in the opening 26 in the brush headand looking it to the shaft.

In Figure 2 of the drawings, I show my apparatus employed for cleaning aham boiler of the type shown in that figure. The ham boiler is presentedinverted as shown in Figure 1, and will be held by the operator down ontop of and in contact with the brushes.

Upon viewing Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be observed that in theillustrated ham boiler which is 11 inches at its longest dimension, theham boiler will extend beyond the brush areas only for a slightdistance, as for example, approximately two inches along its longerdimension, and at the most, one inch along its shortest dimension. Withthe motor in operation, the brushes will all rotate clockwise, as shownby the arrows in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, and will cover themajor portion of the area of the bottom of the ham boiler and for athorough cleansing operation, all that is required is a slight jigglingof the ham boiler in a curved path so as to bring the sides of thebrushes in contact with all the areas of the inner side wall of theboiler and the top surface of the brushes in contact with the innersurface of the bottom of the ham boiler. Very little pressure, if any,need be applied to the ham boiler in a downward direction, and suchpressure as is applied will naturally be developed by the operatorduring the jiggling operation. Due to the construction of the brushhead, and particularly, to the manner in which the upper groups ofbristles are arranged, the weight of the ham boiler plus any downwardpressure that is applied thereto, will tend to spread the bristles atthe top of the brush so that the bristles will reach every portion ofthe corners of the ham boiler as it has been attempted to show in Figure1 of the drawings. This manner of operation of the brushes will beenhanced by centrifugal force which will cause the upper portion of thebrush to expand and to reach the corners easily.

The employment of a plurality of brushes and particularly theirtriangular arrangement is extremely important, particularly inconnection with a ham boiler having a substantially continuous curvedinner surface, and upon careful study of the arrangement disclosed inthe drawings, it will be observed that the slight jiggling operationgiven to the ham boiler, while the brushes are rotating will cause thebristles to reach every portion of the boiler without requiring anyundue pressures, and merely because of the construction of theindividual brushes and their arrangement. For example, as the ham boilerof Figure 1 is forced to the extreme left to bring the side wall of thebrushes in contact with the inner side wall of the ham boiler, theoutward spreading of the top as above referred to, plus the slightlyconical shape of the sides of the brushes, will force the extreme upwardarrangement of the brushes is that each two adjacent brushes are inalignment, and the other brush is out of alignment. In .fact, the systemin effect presents three lines of brush surfaces, each atsubstantially120 to the other two. This permits of a wide range of abrading andcleansing action of said brushes on ham boilers of various contours anddimensions. In Figure 2, I have shown this arrangement functioning witha ham boilerof the type therein disclosed. In Figure 3, I show thesebrushes functioning with adifierent type of ham boiler and in which twoof the brushes, for example those numbered 23 and are received insidethe boiler and operate upon an inner wall and the other brush 24 iscaused simultaneously to contact with the op-, posed outer wall, allshown in the drawings: It will be observed that the container, in thisfigure can be scrubbed inwardly and outwardly by a continuousshifting ofthe container wall between the brushes.

In Figure 4, I show an arrangement whereby the two brushes 24 and 25contact with the outer wall, and the other brush 23 with the inner '1wall.

I have found that while three brushes are arranged triangularly as shownin Figure 2 of the drawings the simultaneous rotation of these brusheswill cause the water therebetween to swirl upwardly, strike the bottomof the boiler be projected forcibly downwardly to strike the surface ofthe water, and cause a splash of the water in the basin 10. To overcomethis, I have provided an overflow pipe 40 in one corner of the washbasin, and which is so positioned as to maintain the level of thesurface at such a distance below the top of the brushes that thissplashing tendency is wholly eliminated and, I have found that a point alittle above midway of the height of the brushes serves eiiectively forthis purpose.

In Figure 2 of the drawings, I have attempted to show the brushes asclosely positioned, and due to the upwardly diverging character of eachjbrush, the brushes will substantially contact to- 1 secure by LettersPatent is- 1. In a ham boiler washing machine having a washing basinadapted to hold the washing fluid, three rotating brushes mounted at thesame level within said basin and on vertical axes located at the apicesof an equilateral triangle and spaced so that when the flat wall of anarticle to be washed is inserted between them, two of the brushes willbe in operative contact with one of the sides of the wall and the thirdbrush in operative con-- tact with the opposite side of the wall, saiderally and penetrate into the remote corners and angles of an article tobe treated, where such article has a flat bottom and upstanding wallsand is applied to the brushes in an inverted position, and said basinbeing provided with a drain whereby the normal level of the washingfluid in the brushes and striking the flat bottom of an article of theaforesaid type, and beingdefiected downwardly thereby and forciblyprojected against the main body of fluid, will'be avoided.

2. For use with a ham boiler washing machine, having a washing'basinadapted to hold the-washing fluid, three rotating brushes mounted withinsaid basin on vertical axes located at the apices of a triangle andsymmetrically spaced so that when the flat wall of an article to bewashed is inserted between them, two of the brushes will be in operativecontact with one of the sides of the wall and the third brush inoperative contact with the opposite side of the wall, said brushes beinginthe form'o-f slightly tapered inverted truncated cones with concavetops adapted to flatten as an effect of rotation and of pressure appliedat their tops, whereby the top portions will spread laterally andpenetrate into the remote corners and angles of an article to betreated, and means for maintaining the level of the fluid below the topsof the brushes and above their middle portions.

3. In a ham boiler washing machine, a Washing basin adapted to hold thewashing fluid, three substantially cylindrical rotating brushes withinsaid basin and mounted on vertical axes located at the apices of anequilateral triangle and spaced so that when the flat wall of an articleto be washed is inserted between them, two of the brushes will be inoperative contact with one of the sides of the wall and the third brushin operative contact with the opposite side of the wall, said brusheshaving concave tops adapted to flatten and spread as an effect ofrotation and of pressure applied at their tops, whereby the top portionswill spread laterally and penetrate into the remote corners and anglesof an article to be treated, and said basin being provided with meanswhereby the level of the washing fluid may be automatically maintainedat such a height in the basin that splashing in the basin due to theeffect of the washing fluid swirling upwardly between the brushes andstriking a horizontal surface of an article when said surface is incontact with the top of the brushes, and being deflected downwardlythereby and forcibly projected against the main body of fluid, will beavoided.

4.. A ham boiler washing machine comprising a washing basin adapted tohold the washing fluid, three rotating brushes mounted within said basinon vertical axes located at the apices of a triangle and spaced so thatwhen the flat wall of an article to be washed is inserted between them,two of the brushes will be in operative contact with one of the sides ofthe wall and the third brush in operative contact with the opposite sideof the wall, said brushes being substantially cylindrical in form andhaving concave tops whereby the top portions of the brushes willpenetrate into narrow areas and angled corners of an article to bewashed, and said basin being provided with a drain whereby the level ofthe washing fluid may be maintained at such a height in the basin thatsplashing in the basin due to the effect or the water swirling upwardlybetween the brushes and striking the surfaces of an article to bewashed, and being deflected downwardly thereby and forcibly projectedagainst the main body of washing fluid, will be avoided.

5. In a ham boiler washing machine having a fluid containing basin, asystem of three substantially cylindrical brushes rotating on laterallyspaced vertical axes and relatively closely spaced from each other, butseparated sufiiciently so that their peripheries will be substantiallytangent to a plane drawn between them so that one Gill brush of thesystem is on one side of said plane and the remaining two on the otherside, and so as to allow the insertion therebetween of the flat wall ofan article to be treated so that all three brushes may simultaneouslyoperate thereupon, said system of brushes being located in the fluidcontaining basin of the washing machine and means for automaticallycontrolling the level of the fluid in said basin to avoid objectionablesplashing due to a swirling motion imparted to the fluid as the resultof the rotation of the brushes, and its reflection forcibly against thesurface'of said fluid.

6.- In a ham boiler washing machine, a washing basin adapted to hold thewashing fluid, three substantially cylindrical rotating brushes withinsaid basin and mounted on vertical axes located at the apices of anequilateral triangle and spaced so that when the fiat wall of an articleto be washed is inserted between them, two of the brushes will be inoperative contact with one of the sides of the wall and the third brushin operative contact with the opposite side of the wall.

7. In a ham boiler washing machine, a washing basin adapted to hold thewashing fluid, three substantially cylindrical rotating brushes withinsaid basin and mounted on vertical axes located at the apices of anequilateral triangle and spaced so that when the fiat wall of an articleto be washed is inserted between them, two of the brushes will be inoperative contact with one of the sides of the wall and the third brushin operative contact with the opposite side of the wall, said brusheshaving concave tops adapted to flatten and spread as an efiect ofrotation and of pressure applied at their tops, whereby the top portionswill spread laterally and penetrate into the remote corners and anglesof an article to be treated.

HANS ADELMANN.

